Horseshoe Bay Shoreline Erosion Management Plan Available

The Queensland’s Townsville City Council is seeking comments on a draft Shoreline Erosion Management Plan (SEMP) that will provide long term options to manage erosion issues at Horseshoe Bay.

The draft Horseshoe Bay SEMP has been open for community feedback on Council’s website for two weeks and closes on Sunday.

Townsville City Council’s Environmental Health Committee Chair, Cr Ann-Maree Greaney, said that the views of local businesses and residents was important in the development of the plan.

“Council has worked with coastal management experts to develop the draft plan and this is a great opportunity for the residents and local businesses to provide their feedback,” Cr Greaney said.

“Unfortunately, the local beach has been hit very hard by a series of major weather events, and while the work Council does each year to reinforce the beach has been effective, we need a long-term approach which the SEMP offers.

“The draft plan provides the science that identifies the causes, and outlines cost effective and environmentally sustainable measures to manage the erosion for a planning period of up to 20 years.”

The draft SEMP outlines a range of proposed management options including:

• Continued redistribution of sand to reinforce the beach profile (annual and as need basis);
• Beach dune and foreshore management, including revegetation, formalizing beach entries;
• Upgraded stormwater drainage along the esplanade.